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Japanese Drama Discussion

Forum Index > Media & Entertainment
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Souma
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
2nd Worst City in CA8938 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-08-21 05:39:32
August 21 2013 05:33 GMT
#1
I didn't see one of these in General, so I decided to create one!

I haven't seen too many Japanese drama, as I can be quite picky. I prefer drama that are more light-hearted, and in fact, almost all of the J-Drama I've completed are quite light.

My three favorite J-Drama are My Boss My Hero, Nodame Cantabile, and Great Teacher Onizuka.

For those who are not familiar with them, here's some info:



My Boss My Hero

[image loading]


Sakaki Makio, also known as "Tornado" is a tough 27-year-old high school drop-out. By academic standards, he's pretty dumb. His father decides to force Makio to return to high school to receive his diploma and he asks an old friend who happens to be the principal of a nearby school to admit Makio. If Makio doesn't graduate, the position of boss will be given to his younger brother, Mikio.


Furthermore, he must pose as a 17-year-old during school hours and in the presence of any classmates or teachers outside of school. If his cover is blown, it would be the end of his high school career as well as his hopes to become boss. Things start out rough and tough as Makio's violent temper is tested. As the lessons and days go by he learns there is much more to school than just tests and studying.

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/My_Boss_My_Hero




Nodame Cantabile

[image loading]


Based on the hit comic book by Tomoko Ninomiya, this is a fun-filled quirky romantic story of two very opposite people.

Megumi Noda, or "Nodame" is a piano student at Momogaoka College of Music. An extremely talented pianist who wants to be a kindergarten teacher, she prefers playing by ear rather than reading the music score. She is messy and disorganized, takes baths several days apart and loves to eat, sometimes stealing her friend's lunchbox when it is filled with delicacies.

Shinichi Chiaki, is Momogaoka's top student. Born into a musical family, he is talented in piano and violin and has secret ambitions to become a conductor. An arrogant multi-lingual perfectionist who once lived abroad in the music capitals of the world as a young boy, he feels mired in Japan because of a childhood phobia.

They meet by accident. Nodame quickly falls in love, but it takes much longer for Chiaki to even begin to appreciate Nodame's unusual qualities. Their relationship causes them both to develop and grow. Because of Nodame, Chiaki got the opportunity to lead a student orchestra and begins to have a broader appreciation of people's musical abilities. Because of Chiaki, Nodame faces her fears and enters a piano competition. Opportunities open up as both begin taking risks, stretching themselves far more than they ever thought possible.

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Nodame_Cantabile



Great Teacher Onizuka

[image loading]


The drama series is based on the manga and anime of the same name, both created by Fujisawa Tohru. The story is a sequel of lesser known series Shounan Jun'ai-gumi (Shounan Love Gang) where Onizuka Eikichi's rogue high school days are depicted.

Sorimachi Takashi plays Onizuka Eikichi, a graduate of a third-rate University and the leader of a motorcycle gang, whose lifelong dream is to become a teacher. After being hired by a seemingly eccentric director, Onizuka begins his unconventional way of teaching a hopeless group of troublemakers. Although he meets much opposition from the students and teachers themselves, his passion for teaching, and more importantly, his students, eventually convinces everyone that Onizuka truly has the makings of a great teacher.

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Great_Teacher_Onizuka



Other dramas that I've seen and liked are:

Iryu
Holyland
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e
Gokusen
Proposal Daisakusen

I dropped Hana Yori Dango and Nobuta wo Produce halfway through as they weren't really to my liking.

Currently I'm watching Hero, which I'm enjoying. Not sure what to pick up next though.


Let the discussion begin!
Writer
OutlaW-
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Czech Republic5053 Posts
August 21 2013 05:41 GMT
#2
wow, nodame, gto and holyland have dramas? never knew. might check them out
Delete your post underage b&. You're incestuous for you're onee-chan so you're clearly not a bad guy, but others might not agree
shadow_orc
Profile Joined June 2011
Canada52 Posts
August 21 2013 05:56 GMT
#3
don't forget about death note
There are only patterns, patterns on top of patterns, patterns that affect other patterns. Patterns hidden by patterns. Patterns within patterns. If you watch close, history does nothing but repeat itself. What we call chaos is just patterns we haven't re
Taekwon
Profile Joined May 2010
United States8155 Posts
August 21 2013 06:14 GMT
#4
On August 21 2013 14:56 shadow_orc wrote:
don't forget about death note


I was super skeptical of the three movies - while the first one of the movies is somewhat awkward, it had a surprising ending.
The next two movies strive in different directions of the manga/anime but they were both surprisingly good!
▲ ▲ ▲
KazeHydra
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Japan2788 Posts
August 21 2013 06:16 GMT
#5
I knew it. Souma you would make a thread to advertise My Boss My Hero.
"Because I know this promise that won’t disappear will turn even a cause of tears into strength. You taught me that if I can believe, there is nothing that cannot come true." - Nana Mizuki (Yakusoku) 17:36 ils kaze got me into nana 17:36 ils by his blog
Kaoriyu
Profile Blog Joined February 2010
Canada276 Posts
August 21 2013 06:17 GMT
#6
1 Litre Of Tears.
NovaTheFeared
Profile Blog Joined October 2004
United States7232 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-08-21 06:32:05
August 21 2013 06:29 GMT
#7
I'll recommend Liar Game and Bloody Monday. If anyone knows any good psychological thrillers among jdramas let me know. I agree with the OP that most jdramas are very light-hearted, but I prefer the darker and more intense ones. I feel like over half of the jdramas out there are of the form downtrodden person learns to appreciate life or man and women who are completely opposite personalities fall for each other (but of course they don't even kiss, very rare on jdramas compared to western dramas).
日本語が分かりますか
Souma
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
2nd Worst City in CA8938 Posts
August 21 2013 07:56 GMT
#8
On August 21 2013 14:41 OutlaW- wrote:
wow, nodame, gto and holyland have dramas? never knew. might check them out


Yep, and they're all quite well done. Nodame especially. Compared to most J-Drama, its production quality was quite up there.

You gotta be careful with GTO though, as it changes up some things from the manga/anime. For one, Kanzaki isn't in the series, which is a shame because she's my favorite character. She's in the new remake, though, but I've read that her role was changed. I haven't read Holyland, but I enjoyed the drama.


On August 21 2013 14:56 shadow_orc wrote:
don't forget about death note


I didn't include Death Note because it's three movies and not an actual drama. >_> I enjoyed the live action though.


On August 21 2013 15:16 KazeHydra wrote:
I knew it. Souma you would make a thread to advertise My Boss My Hero.


rofl, maybe I should just write a blog dedicated to the series. :p
Writer
rexar
Profile Joined February 2011
France103 Posts
August 21 2013 16:15 GMT
#9
My top 3 :

1- Nodame Cantabile
2- Densha Otoko
3- Liar Game
DW-Unrec
Profile Blog Joined August 2011
492 Posts
August 21 2013 18:09 GMT
#10
I don't really know what a drama is but jesus christ the first one seems to be REEEEEEEEALLY low budget.

@shadow_orc isn't death note an anime? Or someone made a live action out of it?
Lucumo
Profile Joined January 2010
6850 Posts
August 21 2013 18:13 GMT
#11
On August 22 2013 03:09 DW-Unrec wrote:
@shadow_orc isn't death note an anime? Or someone made a live action out of it?

Looking at the names here, that seems to be the case in general.

Real actors suck most of the time, so I would prefer radio dramas.
DW-Unrec
Profile Blog Joined August 2011
492 Posts
August 21 2013 18:21 GMT
#12
I agree with you, animes are probably easier than LAction because of that. Even then you can notice some cheapness on the voice acting, even not speaking a word of japanese.
Reno(TE)
Profile Blog Joined September 2004
United Kingdom434 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-08-21 18:23:44
August 21 2013 18:21 GMT
#13
Sunao ni Narenakute

[image loading]
A pro isnt someone who sacrifices themselves for their job, thats just a fool.
Souma
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
2nd Worst City in CA8938 Posts
August 19 2015 08:36 GMT
#14
I hadn't seen a decent J-Drama in a long time, but then I just marathoned Ouroboros.

It was good until the last like 1 1/2 episodes. Too many writers suck at ending things.
Writer
Alucen-Will-
Profile Joined October 2014
United States4054 Posts
August 19 2015 09:12 GMT
#15
I've watched about 20 Kdrama's so far,

How do these compare?
Ilikestarcraft
Profile Blog Joined November 2004
Korea (South)17743 Posts
August 19 2015 10:16 GMT
#16
My boss my hero is the best~
ils
"Nana is a goddess. Or at very least, Nana is my goddess." - KazeHydra
KazeHydra
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Japan2788 Posts
August 19 2015 10:29 GMT
#17
On August 21 2013 16:56 Souma wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 21 2013 14:56 shadow_orc wrote:
don't forget about death note


I didn't include Death Note because it's three movies and not an actual drama. >_> I enjoyed the live action though.

NOT ANYMORE. I hear the Death Note drama changed some things up but don't care enough to bother with it myself.

I'll check out Ouroboros later.
"Because I know this promise that won’t disappear will turn even a cause of tears into strength. You taught me that if I can believe, there is nothing that cannot come true." - Nana Mizuki (Yakusoku) 17:36 ils kaze got me into nana 17:36 ils by his blog
lord_nibbler
Profile Joined March 2004
Germany591 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-08-19 15:40:34
August 19 2015 15:25 GMT
#18
On August 19 2015 18:12 Alucen-Will- wrote:
I've watched about 20 Kdrama's so far,

How do these compare?
This is really personal preference.
I used to be into J-Doramas some years back. All in all I have seen about 140 of them.
In comparison K-Dramas never did it for me, I have tried a few but never finished a single one.

Though I realize, I am not the usual foreign viewer. I like very few of the 'typical' silly school dramas. (The 'My Boss My Hero' from the OP for example gets a resounding '0 out of 10' from me.)
I gravitate towards more grown-up stories and I could not care less which idol got to play which part and so on.

What Japanese do really good is tear-jerking sadness, so you should absolutely see at least "1 Liter of Tears"(Ichi Ritoru no Namida) in this genre.

If this huge field of high school / idol dramas is all that you are interested in, then I would recommend at least something good like 'Nobuta wo Produce' or 'Strawberry on the shortcake'.

But my real recommendations are much better (and also much darker).

1. LIFE
(It's about mean girls bullying our main character and it is a must-see in my opinion. The music and camera work alone makes it great, not just "great for a J-Drama" but really top-notch by any standards.)

2. Byakuyakou
(This one is also a must-see in my eyes, but it will probably be too dark for most people. The 5th episode feels like a punch to the stomach for the audience. Hard topic but brilliant in writing, if only the last episode would not be such a letdown...)

3. Pandora
(Great suspense drama with a really unique topic, that makes you wonder, why this was never remade in the US.)

4. Seigi no Mikata
(a Japanese comedy drama, that really hit my sense of humor)

5. Sora Kara Furu Ichioku no Hoshi
(a crime drama)

6. Shiroi Kyoto
(a medical drama, that is not at all about medical cases but much more about the university hospital's inner-politics and personal morality and so on.)


And here are some good dramas, that are unique, so they are something you probably have not seen elsewhere:
Aishiteru ~ Kaiyo - When one kid kills another and all the families have to come to terms with it
Hagetaka - A business drama in the actual sense
Daisuki!! - Main character is mentally disabled but raises a kid
IS -Otoko Demo Onna Demo Nai Sei - Main characters are all trans-gender
Jyoou no Kyoushitsu - A kinder-garden teacher is bullying her pupils (kinda-sorta)
JIN - "popcorn" drama at its best
Papa to Musume no Nanokakan - Japanese Freaky Friday

Have fun.
RapidTiger
Profile Joined April 2015
59 Posts
Last Edited: 2015-08-19 15:34:25
August 19 2015 15:32 GMT
#19
On August 19 2015 18:12 Alucen-Will- wrote:
I've watched about 20 Kdrama's so far,

How do these compare?


They're quite boring compared to K-dramas.

K-dramas have hotter girls.

J-dramas usually are more abstract... not really my taste. Also there is a huge difference in beauty perception in Japan. "Hot" in Japan usually means cute/innocent.

Totally different meaning to "hot" in the US.
KazeHydra
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Japan2788 Posts
August 27 2015 06:32 GMT
#20
Went on a drama splurge and it's all Souma's fault.

Ouroboros - was fun while it lasted but the ending was just dumb.

My Boss My Hero - that was great but still not as good as Nodame, but what is. Twintail Yui is a qt, needed more of her being a qt.

Since My Boss My Hero didn't quite appease my need for romance, I tried this random one

Rich Man, Poor Woman - isn't quite as cliched as you'd expect from the title. Was cute enough for me. Kind of want to see more of Ishihara Satomi now though since she did a pretty good job.
"Because I know this promise that won’t disappear will turn even a cause of tears into strength. You taught me that if I can believe, there is nothing that cannot come true." - Nana Mizuki (Yakusoku) 17:36 ils kaze got me into nana 17:36 ils by his blog
Souma
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
2nd Worst City in CA8938 Posts
August 28 2015 10:46 GMT
#21
Just finished Hanzawa Naoki. It was good, but it ended on a cliffhanger so now I need to wait for S2...

Apparently the show's finale had the highest tv ratings in the history of Japan.
Writer
KazeHydra
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Japan2788 Posts
August 30 2015 12:52 GMT
#22
Watched Proposal Daisakusen at Souma's recommendation. I guess objectively it was a good show but all it managed to do was make me really angry at how incompetent the MC was. Almost all his suffering was his own fault. Around episode 8 I said he totally doesn't deserve a happy ending for being such a failure and then at the end + Show Spoiler +
we never even see his happy ending so maybe he gets ran over by a car and dies and Rei lives happily ever after with her teacher.
"Because I know this promise that won’t disappear will turn even a cause of tears into strength. You taught me that if I can believe, there is nothing that cannot come true." - Nana Mizuki (Yakusoku) 17:36 ils kaze got me into nana 17:36 ils by his blog
Souma
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
2nd Worst City in CA8938 Posts
August 30 2015 18:09 GMT
#23
Did you watch the movie/special or whatever?
Writer
KazeHydra
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Japan2788 Posts
August 31 2015 08:48 GMT
#24
Watched movie. Was better than the series and Tsuru is a true man.

Started re-watching Nodame. Holy crap forgot how great this is. Ueno Juri's acting is amazing.
"Because I know this promise that won’t disappear will turn even a cause of tears into strength. You taught me that if I can believe, there is nothing that cannot come true." - Nana Mizuki (Yakusoku) 17:36 ils kaze got me into nana 17:36 ils by his blog
Souma
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
2nd Worst City in CA8938 Posts
August 31 2015 08:52 GMT
#25
Gonna be so weird when I rewatch Nodame and see Ueno Juri acting like that after watching her in Ouroboros lol.
Writer
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